The Catholic Church’s teaching on immigration has its roots in Scripture and tradition. Both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures reiterate the moral obligation to “welcome the stranger.” Jesus said that whatever we do to the foreigner living among us, we do to him (Matt. 25). First, the Church teaches that every person’s fundamental rights are not contingent on any law or national association but are based on their nature as children of God, created in God’s image. The under-nourished 4-yr old from Honduras has the same dignity before God as the wealthy lawyer on Wall Street. Second, all people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. This right is connected with the Church’s teachings on the dignity of work as laid out by Pope Leo XIII. Third, the Church teaches that a nation does have the right to establish laws around immigration and control its borders though these rights are always secondary to the dignity of the person. Every nation has a moral obligation to welcome the stranger whenever possible, to provide for their basic needs, and to treat all refugees and immigrants in a humane and dignified fashion. Fourth, deportation is listed (along with abortion, slavery, prostitution, and others) as one of the societal vices that “does more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator.” (Gaudium et Spes 27) Finally, immigrants “are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws, and to assist in carrying civic burdens” (CCC 2241). The Church does not make public policy. But it does provide the moral underpinnings for a balanced policy to be made. – – – Fr. Jim